K5 Sensor Issues...

Hi
I have added a photo with the blob to the right of the bird.
Cheers
Andy

Deffo dust bunny, nothing to worry about. Set the camera so that it shakes the sensor on start then turn it on/off a couple of times. If this doesn't get shot you may need to invest in some kind of cleaner. The arctic butterfly is very good.

Before investing in an Artic Butterfly I'd probably consider a simple rocket blower.

A good number of people here would advise against a rocket blower, because you don't know where the dust is going to end up.

Have to agree. In my experience rocket blowers cause more problems that they solve.

But what happens to the dust the artic butterflies shoots to the sides?
Interesting debate, Guess I'll have to look into it.

As I understand it you statically charge the bristles so they attract the dust. Then spin it off when away from the camera.

Wow I had a complete misunderstanding of how that thing worked. Thanks for coming back at me on this one.

Just ordered a K5 from SRS - then started researching cleaning kits etc.. 1st thread I came across mentioned problems with the sensor in a small number of units (blobs/smearing!!) - 2 questions: is this still prevalent? and is there a cleaning kit/system in existence which a majority agree on does the business? I've never come across a topic with so diverging opinions without a clear solution. Apologies if someone finds this is not the appropriate place to ask ... never had a digital slr before means I will be asking some basic questions. Never been a great fan of forums - but I must admit I have found this one informative and responsive.... Andy

As far as I'm aware the Staining problem has been resolved now, but that was a manufacturing fault that sensor cleaning could not fix. For general removal of dust I use an arctic butterfly

The sensor staining issue only affected early production cameras and was resolved over a year ago. Affected cameras were replaced.
If you are reasonably careful there is no reason to worry about dust and cleaning kits, just avoid changing lenses in a dust storm! I am pretty sure most users won't have found the need to use a cleaning kit so there is no need to rush out and buy one.
I am sure you will be thrilled with your K-5 when it arrives.

John

When I had a *ist D it needed cleaning. K10D and K20D never have done.

G

Needed to use a wet cleaning kit twice now and have owned my K-r a year and a bit. I change lenses quite a lot outside but am careful when doing so, it doesn't seem that unusual to have to clean the sensor once in a while.

I got my cleaning kit from amazon pretty cheap but does the job fine

link

I'll ditto Georges comment, istD was a bit of a nightmare, had no problems with any body with dust removal though.

I had to regularly clean the sensors of my K10D and K20D. I've had my two K-5s over a year now and have NEVER had to clean the sensors.

Amazing really and I'm pleasantly surprised